Future Ages of Urthe
The Ages of Urthe represent the timeline of Urthe's history, from creation, to the present, and even into the future. Past Ages '1. THE FIRST AGE OF URTHE' The Age of Gold, Warmth, and the Lion: 10,500 – 8000 BCE The Conception The beginning was the void, the domain of Jergal, the Power of Nothingness. The end of all, without substance, beyond scale. And although there was nothing in the void, the Overpower (Aom) discerned, within the void, a single point. A point in the void was conceived, and this point crystallized in one dimension. Aom focused on the point, and the point expanded evenly in height and width: a circle in two dimensions. Turning in three dimensions, it became a sphere. The Power of Nothingness retreated. The Dawning of the World ''' Elemental Forces rushed in to fill the sphere: servants of Kossuth, Grumbar, Ishtishia, and Akadi. Fire at the core, under a crust of Earth, covered in Water, and enveloped in Air. Other Powers in the universe took immediate notice of this new material world. The Power of Sun and the Power of Magic enveloped the globe, and the sky shone and sparkled gold. The first day had dawned. '''The Great Thaw Only a single island continent stood out from the surface of the great ocean, the Sea of Thalassa. The island was Pangaea, and at the center of the island there was a smaller sea, the Sea of Tethys. The Power of Nature (Silvanus) began to work on the land and the waters, with the help of the Elemental Forces, and the Powers of Sun (Lathander), and Magic (Mystryl), and Beauty (Sune), to bring forth a seed of life on Urthe. In opposition to this, the Power of Orcs (Gruumsh), with the Power of Oceans (Umberlee), the Power of Cold (Auril), and the Power of the Beast (Malar), and the Elemental Forces, all besieged this new life, from without and from within, without warning, and without mercy. The Power of Nothingness, much weakened, returned to claim what he could. The Birth of Urthe For two hundred years, this struggle went on. Life survived, diversified, and adapted. As the seas rose and the land trembled, Life took on many forms. Ooze and Jelly, Pudding and Slime all grew and bred, then Fungus and Plant bloomed, and soon true Animal kind was born, each creature combining and creating new forms after their kinds. The Life of Urthe flourished. Yet more Powers arrived, and they all swarmed over this dynamic, new, fertile world. Sowing the Seeds of Baramin The Seldarine, Corellon Larethian, was among the first of the Powers to bring forth a chosen race on Urthe, casting his seeds over the land and the surrounding waters. Gruumsh, a watchful enemy, jealous of Larethian’s power, searched the land for all of Larethian’s spores that he could find. When he would find one, Gruumsh would bite his cheek and spit a blood curse upon all them. These spores turned hard as diamond and heavy as lead, and sank deep into the Urthe, where they slowly grew, in rock and fire, into the first of the Orcish race. But Larethian hid some of the seeds from the Power of Orcs. These seeds were planted to grow in the most beautiful places on Urthe, in the places that Gruumsh neglects. These were the seeds blessed with Seldaran’s own immortal blood. These seeds blossomed quickly, and begat the first beings of the race called Elf (Finely boned and delicately featured, Elves stand about 5 feet tall, on average). The First Elves of Urthe Larethian’s seeds were planted in all the beautiful places of the Urthe so that, like the Seldarine, the Elves would be creatures of great beauty. Some Elves were born on the mountaintops, some were born in the valleys and the plains, some were born in the forest, and some were born on the seashores. Like Larethian himself, these Elves were very curious, and highly intelligent. They began to explore the world before them; in whatever environment they found themselves. The Elves spoke to themselves, and with their fellow creatures. They spoke to the Powers as they worked upon the Urthe. Some of the Powers spoke back to the Elves, and shared with the Elves the gifts of song and joy. The Elves talked to their animal neighbors, great and small, and conversed with all the trees, and plants, and even the stones in their surroundings. The elves showed friendship to all their fellow inhabitants. Gold, silver, and gems of all kinds littered the Urthe in this age, and the Elves collected some of these in recognition of their beauty. They developed uses for oil, and created stone lamps that they used in their temples for their first rituals of Communion with their creator, Larethian, who taught them to speak their Elven tongue. Soon, the Elves of the seashore met the Elves of the forests, and the Elves of the mountaintops met the Elves of the valleys. Stories were shared, in poetry, in song, in dance, and in celebration. With this intermingling, the Elves began to increase their numbers. Never the Muse is absent from their ways: lyres clash and flutes cry and everywhere maiden choruses whirling. Neither disease nor bitter old age is mixed : in their sacred blood; far from labor and battle they live. The Elves lived in ever-growing nomadic tribe communities. They collected, and later cultivated, the calabash fruit, which they used for food, for containers, for pipes, for music, and for their first rituals. They hunted, and fished, and harvested wild grains, using elegant tools of bone and ivory. They helped the struggling herds, and the smallest fishes, and the dusty fields, and the drying forests, and the grateful animals and plants helped the Elves in return. Some Elves took special interest in a particularly clever breed of ape, the Hsing-sing. The Elves loved to watch, from a safe distance, and assist these creatures too, always unseen, from time to time, whenever it appeared like they needed the help. During harsh storms, the nomadic Elves took shelter beneath the waves of the canopy of broad trees, or in wide caves of stone. They sometimes painted on the walls of the caves; pictures of the beauties of life on the surface, intended as a message of peace to the frightening and often-unfriendly creatures of the dark places underground that would emerge from time to time. The Power of Peace walked the Urthe, and the Elves lived a peaceful existence like this for a thousand years. Some Elven groups began to make structures in the woods; others began to build temples (Göktepe) and small buildings of brick and stone. They divided Pangaea into three lands: Aedan, Borea, and Knod. The first settlements were created; including the village called Jericho in the land called Aedan. When at last the Orcs emerged, they sought to make war upon the Elves. Heavily boned and grotesquely featured, the Orcs stand about six feet eight inches, on average. The Orcs attacked with their jagged stone-bladed knives and spears, and the Elves defended themselves with their elegant hunting weapons: arrows and blades of wood, horn, ivory and stone. For five hundred years, assassination, skirmishes, raids, and eventually full-scale war raged between the two races. The Elves were winning the war, on the verge of wiping out the Orcs, when Gruumsh himself stepped onto the field of battle. Corellon Larethian appeared, and the two Powers fought mightily, with Gruumsh finally losing an eye, and Larethian standing over him, victorious. Rather than destroy the Orcish race utterly, the Elves agreed to allow them to live in the lands east of Aeden, so long as they agreed to keep the truce, and to stay within their own borders. The Power of Peace returned to Urthe. The Orcs retreated to their land, called Knod, bitter in defeat, and hungry for revenge. They set to work, razing forests, mining for ores, and breeding new warriors: building for the war to come. The Orcs went back underground, tunneling their way underneath the Elvish lands, developing their plans for a devastating sneak attack. For eight hundred years, they stayed underground, and they grew accustomed to the dark. Aom looked on… '2. THE SECOND AGE OF URTHE' The Age of the Great Mother: 8000 – 6450 BCE The First Dwarves of Urthe Called the New Stone Age by the Dwarves, and the Cancerian Age by the Elves, the Great Mother Age saw the birth of many things. Following the example of Seldarine, the leader of the Morndinsamman, Moradin Soul-Forger, planted seeds of ore for a people in his own image, deep in the stone and iron within the mountains, where they quickly awoke. The first of the Dwarven people were brought to life. The Cataclysm The Power of Destruction raged again, furious that another rival race to the Orcs had been planted in the dark caverns of the Urthe. Instead of challenging the Morndinsammen directly, the Stormlord aimed to crack this new world itself beyond repair. Talos and his servants sent an iron comet hurtling to the young Urthe, but the Power of Justice redirected the cataclysmic bullet to destroy the Orc’s land of Knod instead: destroying the land (and Tyr’s hand) utterly, and nearly wiping out the entire race of Orcs. From the black hole in the Urthe where the Orc nation once lay, the Power of Darkness sprang forth, and the first night fell over half of the Urthe. Many Orcs escaped the fate of their brethren, as they were not in Knod, but in the tunnels underneath the lands of Elves when the cataclysm struck. The massive impact raised the oceans and caused an epic event known to history as “The Great Quake”. The landscape, until then one large continent, rent itself from the force of the impact, and shook apart forming seperate landmasses. Nations and peoples were torn asunder. The Birth of the Moon The projectile blew the ruinous lump of rock and stone that used to be Knod out the other side of Urthe, into the void. The Power of the Moon appeared, and set the displaced, lifeless ruins of the former Orc lands in safe orbit as the moon above, relieving the utter blackness that had descended over the land. The Power of Darkness continued to battle both Sun and Moon for control of the world. They still do battle over Urthe, high in the heavens above, and there the moon lies lifeless still, barren outside of the Power of Nature’s influence. The newly-born moon cast a strange spell over some rare individual animals at this time, mutating these wild creatures into the first of the natural Lycanthropes. Life on Urthe During this 2nd Age, The seas were still rising from The Great Melt of the 1st Age. The Dwarves felt the quaking of the Urthe, and did not venture out of their caverns, but explored the depths of their mountain homes, as the Elves had explored the surface world before them. The Dwarves eventually found the messages of friendship the Elves had left in the deep caves, and decided to carve their own messages of friendship in the stone, back to the unknown Elves. Meanwhile, the Elves had begun to form permanent cities as they retreated from tumultuous coastal areas, towards high ground, or under the churning waves. Many Powers were active upon the Urthe. The Elves mastered agricultural principles (though they still rarely ‘farmed’, preferring to let nature run its own course, with their loving assistance), and had domesticated some animals (mainly pigs, goats, and bees) for their products, and some animals for companionship (breeding cooshee, training birds, and teaching a few Hsing-sing apes to walk upright, etc.). Knowledge was still passed down through oral traditions, but the Elves began to write late in this age, too. The Elves still called their nation Aedan, and King Cancerian decreed its first Capital, the walled City of Jericho. It is said by some that it was in this age that the Elven line began to diverge into the main distinct variations we know today. While the Grey Elves built walled cities, the Wild Elves focused on the land and its creatures, The Aquatic Elves built communities among the coral reefs, the first Avariel began to migrate north, and the High Elves developed advanced pottery and seafaring during this time. Some of the great ships of this Age are still in use by the Elves today. Aom looked on… '3. THE THIRD AGE OF URTHE' The Age of Communication, Trade, and the Twins: 6450 – 4300 BCE At the dawn of this age, in the year 6450, King Gemini of the Grey Elves Queen (and Sister) bore him twin sons; Albabla, who had white skin and black hair, and Zwart, who was white haired and black skinned. Albabla was named heir to the throne, while Zwart was tasked to serve as an emissary to the Dwarven people. Since the Grey Elves chose the mountains for their cities, they were the first of their kind to encounter the Dwarves face to face. By now, the Dwarves had built their own civilizations under the highest stony places of the World, had developed a written tongue of their own, and had their own high kings and leaders. After a century of serving both races with the nobility and grace befitting a Grey Elven prince, the Black Elf Zwart disappeared during his travels, never to be seen again. Some sages say it was Zwart who begat the entire Dark Elven race, though no Elves discuss such matters with outsiders. During this age, both Elves and Dwarves learned each other’s written languages, and trade grew between the two peoples, forging friendly relations and strong alliances. Both societies minted coins in this age. Most sages say the Dwarves, inspired by the pottery wheels of the Elves, developed the first wheels for transport in this age, for use especially on mining carts, but this revolutionary technology spread fast, and soon, carriages and chariots of great variety were seen about the Urthe by all manner of intelligent peoples. The Grey Elves had begun to notice that their prized pet dakon apes they had been breeding had become so intelligent as to nearly deserve to be considered a ‘people’, too, so the Grey Elven societies began to free their pet apes back into the wild. More Powers were acting upon the Urthe in this age, sowing their own Seeds of Baramin. The first Gnomes and Halflings came into being, created by Gond, the Power of Invention, and Jannath, the Power of Agriculture, respectively. Their seeds were planted with care, in small sheltered spaces too modest to appeal to the Elves or Dwarves. The Gnomes and the Halflings were friendly with the other races during this Age, but mostly kept to their own kind, much as they do now. By the end of this age, it is believed that all the known Powers of Urthe’s Pantheon were established in their realms, and all were influencing events on the Young Urthe, but the how and whys of each are obscure matters for specialist scholars of those faiths. Sages disagree whether omens concerning this so called “Age of Twins” refers most particularly to the sons of the Elvish King Geminian, the creation of the Gnomes and Halflings (as the child-like ‘twins’ of Dwarves and Elves, some clerics say), or is symbolic of the multiplicity of Deities of the age, though several scholars would insist it refers to all these, and perhaps other unnamed facets, too. Aom looked on… '4. THE FOURTH AGE OF URTHE' The Age of Earth, Agriculture, and the Bull: 4300 – 2150 BCE Although this is the Fourth Age of Urthe, some name this time The First Age of Man, for it was at this time that the first true Humans (as cavemen) appeared on the Urthe, evolved from the Elven-bred dakon apes. Lead by a man named Abel (born Oct 13, 4115 BCE to a 15-year old girl named Eve), the Men soon traded with their fellow Urthe races, and became particularly friendly with the Elves, from whom they learned much lore and many skills, including Agriculture, which the Humans used extensively. The population of Men exploded in the Age of the Bull. Some, very rare humans began to commune with the Powers, and the first human clerics and wizards began their arts near the end of this age. The Elvish Bloodline had been sundered by this time, with the varied Elvish peoples splitting into distinct nations of their kindred, though all Elves still reckon this the Age of Taureanis, son of Minos, son of Asterion, The Grey Elf King of Anatolia. His lands extended from the Ionian Sea to the Taurus Mountains, and his capital was in Crete at the High Seat of Cydonia. It was in this Age that the Dwarves smelted the first bronze, which they traded for the papyrus invented by the Elves The Elves forged the Blades of Ceremony, and the Dwarves wrote their first Scrolls of Metallurgy. Skills and products were all traded freely amongst the good races of the Young Urthe. Aom looked on… '5. THE FIFTH AGE OF URTHE' The Age of War, Fire, and the Ram: 2150 BCE – 1 CE ' Called the Age of Iron by the Dwarves, and The Arian Age by the Elves, this Age saw the nations of Man, Dwarf, and Elf expand until at last, clashes erupted at borders, and war sprang between them all. Though some individual Gnomes and Halflings were pressed into service on all sides, their kind generally stayed out of the warmongering of this age. Battle lines were drawn between racial groups, and within them. In 1628 BCE, an underground explosion destroyed the capital of the Grey Elven Nation of Anatolia. Some blame the Drow, and speak of the incident as “Zwart’s Revenge”. It was in this age that the Powers of Urthe freely gave the power of the Weave to their Human worshippers: Arcane and Divine Magic crackled over the surface of the Young Urthe. During this age, three powerful, magic-wielding mortal men arose, and successfully challenged Jergal for The Throne of Bones, becoming Gods themselves, and splitting His portfolio between them. The Power of Tyche split in two during this age, becoming both The Good Tymora and the Evil Beshaba. Though horses had been tamed, befriended, and occasionally mounted by the Elves since the Early ages, and had been used in the fields of farmers and as beasts of burden in the previous age, it was in the Age of war that Men first saddled them for riding. Mozeus, a leader of Men and Cleric of Tyr, aged 80, climbs Mount Sinai for the first time in the second month of Exile from Egypt on Sunday May 18 in 1445 BC and delivers his Tablets of Law (a powerful artifact) to his followers. Moses lives to 120. Worshippers of different deities began to fight for the primacy of their faith over all others in a succession of destructive, decades-long conflicts now called “The Holy Wars”. Scribes report Egyptian King Akhen (“Living Spirit”) Half-Elven began the earliest of these crusades in about 1350 BC, declaring Lathander to be the supreme deity. Many sages speculate that Mozeus, King of a neighboring Human nation, was inspired by Akhena’s ruthless example, and declared his Patron Power, Tyr, to be the One True God and his countrymen a Chosen People. Such wars as these spread over the Urthe. Sunday May 18 in 965 BC is the start date for Solomon's Temple in the Fourth Year of his 40-year Reign. The End of King Solomon's Reign in 929 BC. On Monday July 21 in 526 BC, the High Elvish army enters Jerusalem and starts burning the Temple. The battle is over 3 days later on Thursday July 24: This date marks the end of the Reigns of the Southern Kings of Israel along with the destruction of Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple. The completion of the Jerusalem Wall at the End of the Babylonian Exile: Sunday September 8 in 455 BC In the middle of this Age, the Dwarves mined the first Mithril, (which is named after its discoverer’s sovereign, King Mithras); Elves and Men alike lusted after this “true silver”. Many wars were fought over this rare metal during this age (though it appears that men had little success in these ventures, with most of the known spoils of Mithril ending up in Elvish or Dwarvish hands). Aom stirred… The Present Age '6. THE SIXTH AGE OF URTHE The Age of Monotheism, Spirituality, and the Fish: 1 – 2150 CE In this, the current age, Ao banished the Powers themselves to live in mortal (but powerful) Avatar form on Urthe. The Powers set upon each other in what came to be known as the Godswar. The Powers of the Elder races sought communion with their people. It is from this date that the Common Era is reckoned as beginning. The Elves and Dwarves, in awe at this Supernatural crisis gripping the planet, and faced with their own Gods standing before them, declared a truce amongst themselves (Elves credit the Sea Elven King Piscean with this successful negotiation, and name the Age for him, but both Elves and Dwarves are equaly proud of taking the high road, as deemed “befitting the nobility of the Elder Races”). But the wars of men carried on, and they often still do to this day. The Godswar lasted 30 years, ending finally with the Martyrdom of Ilmater in mortal form. Born on the Urthe as the Avatar Yehoshua (translated as “Aom saves”, in the Old Tongue) in the Age of Fire (Sunday October 20 in 5 BC is the Day that he was born in Bethlehem.), Ilmater chose to be born as Yehoshua, an almost powerless mortal infant Avatar, and went to his death willingly on “Good Friday” in 30 AD When Aom raised him again, an Immortal God once more, the Godswar had ended. The Ascension of Ilmater happens 40 days after The Resurrection on Friday June 13 in 30 AD. Some of the Elder Gods lay slain, and their portfolios were taken over by others (eg. Waukeen’s death led to the emergence of Shaundakul, God of Travellers, etc.) Many of the leaders of the nations of men renounced the Gods they had previously served, and Cults of Yehosua, known collectively as “The Annointed”, and minor cults of Aom swept across the Urthe. The Cults of Aom died out in the first century, but some form of Ilmatari faith become the official religion of many Human lands for many centuries to come. Although this widespread state of virtually monotheistic worship has persisted until this day, wars still broke out among Human nations over the years, with different factions of The Annointed warring amongst themselves. Recently, Ilmatari worship has been declining, while the other faiths are all becoming resurgent. The great sages of the Urthe alive today see the signs all around them of the Age nearing its end, though no man alive today will likely live to see the next age emerge. Future Ages '7. THE SEVENTH AGE OF URTHE' The Age of Freedom, Technology, and the Water Bearer: 2150 – 4300 CE Little can be told of these ages yet to come, though most look forward to this as the age of ultimate peace on Urthe, and goodwill shared among all the races. If this comes to pass, sages forsee a likely sharing and development of knowledge and lore as yet unimagined. Some sages suggest that by the end of this age, the oceans will rise again as the ice caps will have melted completely, and some lands will sink under the sea. Some see a great technological leap being made, as the power of the entire Urthe is harnessed. Travel to distant planets, and even other solar systems, is made possible. In 2160, Morganna Half-Elven, the Veneranble Lady of the Tower of Mystery, sends back to 2010 three heroes to the skies above Babel via a Planar Shift spell. '8. THE EIGHTH AGE OF URTHE' The Age of Unity, Wealth, and the Sea-Goat: 4300 – 6450 CE Some sages say the “Age of Capricornian”, as the Elves foretell it, will be a continuation of the peace and prosperity of the previous age, and make little differentiation between the two. Others of a more pessimistic bent see a hidden danger in the promise of this age. Some predict that the Age of the Sea-Goat will be a time that Urthe’s past comes back to haunt us, and people may have to take responsibility for the deeds of their ancestors. As learned sages puzzle over the mysterious “Sea Goat” omen, they fear that the “unity” and “wealth” it promises may not be equally promised to all. One speculation: Urthe is a waterworld, and the populace, mindless drones living on islands, are ruled over by a powerful, superhuman overlord. Perhaps there is one super-continent. An early Seed of Baramin has spawned a leviathan. Urthe has developed Type II technology, mastering the power of the Sun (the enslavement of Lathander?) by 5200 CE. '9. THE NINTH AGE OF URTHE' The Age of Flight, Travel, and the Archer: 6450 – 8000 CE The Age of Sagittarian, some sages believe, will be another age of strife, as the symbol of the archer cannot help but bring weapons and war to mind. It is thought that some will escape this turmoil, although to where they will flee, no sage alive can be sure. Some say, in this late age, no sages will remain to foretell or document the ages to come. Prophets speak the name Ophiuchus, 'and dream of the Rise of the Serpent Bringer. '10. THE TENTH AGE OF URTHE The Age of Chaos, Destruction, and the Scorpion: 8000 – 10,500 CE This age, it is agreed by virtually all sages, will be the worst age the world will ever see. Most sages agree that no creature on Urthe will survive this age, and that many of the Powers, Greater and Lesser, will fall in this age. '11. THE ELEVENTH AGE OF URTHE' The Age of Ending, Balance, and the Scales: 10,500 – 12,650 CE Most say, of this age, that all that was done will be undone, with the following age mirroring the state of the world as it was before the Golden age. '12. THE TWEFTH AGE OF URTHE' The Age of Purity, Ice, and the Virgin: 12,650 – 14,800 CE Most sages agree that this will be the age when the Urthe resembles once more the featureless, uninhabitable ball of black ice it was in the beginning, ruled over, and inhabited only, by Jergal, lord of death. Sages contend that after this age, the world will be reborn in a new Golden age, and the cycle will begin afresh. For most people, these ages to come are far too distant in the future to think about. Category:1st Age Category:2nd Age Category:3rd Age Category:4th Age Category:5th Age Category:6th Age Category:7th Age Category:8th Age Category:9th Age Category:10th Age Category:11th Age Category:12th Age Category:Chronology